12 Days of Christmas
by Sunlight through Leaves
Summary: A series of one-shots based on themes from the Kakairu Group on DA. Christmas Kakairu!
1. 1st Day of Christmas

**Theme: Candy Cane**

"Not so much! I'm going to look deformed!"

Iruka heaved a long-suffering sigh. "I warned you."

"Maa, but…" One of Kakashi's hands was wrapped around Iruka's wrist in a desperate attempt to control the damage, and he flapped the other to illustrate his point. "I thought it was more of a token protest." His voice slipped into a cracking falsetto. "'I can't concentrate when you're reading that stuff aloud to me' and 'I have grading to finish, Kakashi, don't touch me there.'"

Iruka's frosty gaze met his in the mirror. "Is that supposed to me?" The tone held a dangerous undercurrent. "You sound like a twelve-year-old girl. You do realize that I have a pair of scissors in your hair right now, don't you?" He cocked his head to the side pensively. "I do wonder how long it would take you to notice if I clipped you bald back here?"

Kakashi twisted frantically, tightening his grip on Iruka's wrist and hauling the scissors away from the silver strands.

"Oh, relax, hold still and stop whining." A few snips and the offending bit of striped candy fell free.

"I can't believe you got a candy cane stuck in my hair." Kakashi pouted.

"You're the one who tackled me when I was eating it. I even told you not to!" The sweet now had a fine coat of fur, and Iruka made a face at it before tossing it into the garbage.

"My hair better not have any red stripes it in."

Iruka ruffled the slightly matted section that he'd cut the candy from. Hopefully Kakashi wouldn't realize that, with the trajectory they'd taken when they fell, Iruka would have had to actively smash the candy cane into his hair.

He _had_ been grading, after all, and he didn't want to be touched _there._

Well, at least not until his work was done.

OOOOOOOOOO

The Kakairu group on DA is having a 12 Days of Christmas Challenge, so expect 11 more of these Christmas themed shorts!

Hope you like it!


	2. 2nd Day of Christmas

**Theme: Champagne**

**Inspired by the lovely Ruthea's entry for the champagne theme on DA**

Iruka padded across the floor shirtless because he'd left his sodden vest and shirt in the entryway and tried to ignore the similarly shirtless person following closely behind him.

Kakashi was shirtless because…. Well, he hadn't dared to ask. That approach tended to be safer and lead to fewer misinterpretations of his intentions. A strong arm halted him halfway across the room. "Kakashi, please, I just want to get into some warm, dry clothes."

"Ah, ah." Kakashi wagged his index finger in Iruka's face. "It's Christmas Eve! And it's high time we had some champagne."

"And I don't suppose it can wait?"

"Maa, it could…." He nuzzled the base of Iruka's neck. "But this is so very pleasant."

For just a second, Iruka relaxed, giving into the heat at his back, and that was all the opportunity needed. The grip on his stomach shifted, and, overbalanced, he sat down hard on Kakashi's lap. His skin burned where his back pressed up against Kakashi's bare chest, but between Kakashi arms around his waist and the champagne bottle in his lap, he couldn't budge. He did, however, blush furiously.

The cork popped from the bottle with an obscenely loud noise, and foam spurted from the neck, cascading over Kakashi's hands and onto his lap. "Kakashi! It's all over my pants!" He watched Kakashi open his mouth and fully expected a comment along the lines of 'maa, we'll just have to take them off, then,' but the words were seemed to be overridden by deep snickers rumbling up from Kakashi's chest. "What?"

"The…shadow…" Kakashi gasped.

He was pressed so close to Kakashi that it was impossible to tell one from the other in the shadow on the far wall save for their heads and the strategically placed neck of the champagne bottle, which just happened to have Kakashi's hand wrapped around it. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words.

"You should have seen it a minute ago when I popped the cork."

It only took a moment for Iruka's mind to fill in the extra shadows that would have produced and his cheeks flamed.

"I wonder what any passer-bys might have assumed." From the vantage point of the walkway that encircled his apartment building, a passerby would have been able to see the shadows, but not the people casting them.

"They better not have assumed anything." Iruka huffed and eyed the champagne bottle disdainfully. "I'm much bigger than that." Only when Kakashi dissolved into gales of laughter did he realize he'd voiced that particular bit of indignant observation aloud.

OOOOOOOOOOO

^^ Happy 2nd day of Christmas. Hope this is better than the traditional turtle doves!


	3. 3rd Day of Christmas

**Theme: Snow**

The brisk air nipped at his exposed nose, and for once he was truly jealous of Kakashi's mask. He nestled down deeper into his vest's tall collar and rounded his shoulders to turn more of the dark green cloth toward the bright sun. A pair of children sprinted by in the ankle deep snow, giggling and laughing. "So, where did you disappear to this afternoon?"

Kakashi stepped sideways to avoid getting swiped by the kids, tucking a plastic bag deeper under his arm. "Maa, I may have been getting your Christmas present. You're going to love it."

"Mmmm, well, I guess I'll have to think of some way to thank you. Maybe I could…." Iruka leaned close and whispered the words directly into Kakashi's ear. The knot of embarrassment in his throat almost made speaking impossible, but the look of astonished arousal on Kakashi's face made it all worth it.

A quick movement to his right drew his attention, and he spun just in time to see the snowball headed for his face. "Oh, shit." Pure instinct drove him down, and he dropped one knee and a hand into the snow to support his weight.

The girl who'd thrown it stood a few feet away with her hands clasped to her mouth and eyes wide in terror. The object of her fear was not Iruka, but rather the hulking shape behind him.

Poor Kakashi. As a jounin, he should have been able to easily dodge a snowball chucked by a five-year-old, but his brain was happily distracted by a continuous loop of Iruka's scandalous suggestion. For a minute, he appeared to not even have noticed he'd been struck. Snow was plastered to one side of his face, and he blinked stupidly as if trying to reconstruct the last few moments.

A muffled snicker escaped Iruka's lips and quickly escalated to full-blown laughter, only to be joined by the kids when they realized that death was not imminent.

At least not for them.

A sudden chill shot down his back. He yelped, clawing at his vest in a vain effort to dislodge the fistful of snow. "Kakashi!"

OOOOOOOO

Uh, not much to say here. My brain deserted me today... Hopefully I'll be struck by better inspiration tomorrow ^^


	4. 4th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Gingerbread**

A soft chime emitted from the timer sitting atop the stove. He tugged the padded gloves over his hands and gingerly pulled the hot sheet from the oven.

"Are you…baking?"

Was he baking? Of course, he was baking. He always baked during the holidays. _Everyone_ always baked during the holidays.

A suppressed chuckled sounded from over his shoulder.

"I don't see why this is funny." He sulked, shoving the spatula under the cookies with more force than was absolutely necessary.

"You don't? Kakashi, you're the copy-nin. You're quite possibly one of the most bad-ass jounin this town has ever seen. And…you're baking _cookies_." Iruka stepped forward to lean over the counter. "Gingerbread shuriken?"

"I _am _a bad-ass shinobi." Kakashi scooped up one of the cookies and flung it at Iruka.

He caught the sugar projectile against his chest and fell back against the couch theatrically. After a minute of joined laughter, Iruka straightened up and bit off one of the points. The laughter died in his throat.

"Maa, Iruka, they can't be that bad." Kakashi tasted one. They tasted exactly as he remembered and certainly shouldn't have engendered that kind of reaction.

"Where…where did you get this recipe?" The dark eyes flicked up to meet his, and the gaze was entirely serious.

It was not the question he was expecting. "Back, after I'd lost my parents and Obito, when I was in ANBU, they had this cookie drive thing where mostly kunoichi were baking desserts to distribute to the younger shinobi. At that time, most of our younger ranks had been orphaned by the war. The yondaime made me help. He thought it would be good for me to try and connect with people. It didn't really work, but I was helping this kunoichi make these cookies. She told me she'd walk me through step-by-step, but I just watched her the first time and copied it." He gestured to the covered sharingan. "I've made it ever since. Iruka?" He couldn't quite ignore the way Iruka was swiping his hands under his eyes.

"I've been trying to re-create this recipe for years. This…is my mom's recipe." He sniffed slightly. "She always did it from memory and never got around to writing it down."

The kunoichi's face swam into memory, and he could easily pick out common features. No doubt that the woman was Iruka's mother.

Iruka scrubbed his eyes again, rose from the couch and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Kakashi."

He wrapped his arms around him. "I…didn't do it on purpose you know."

"I know."

"Merry Christmas, Iruka."

"Merry Christmas."

OOOOOOOOO

Argh, I'm late! Real life intervened. There will be another tonight, for today. ^^


	5. 5th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Snowflakes**

The temperature had plummeted after the sun sank below the horizon. Iruka shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and sped up, the sooner he got home, the better.

The first white flake almost landed on the end of his nose. He spread his hands, not sure if he'd actually seen, but several collected in his palms. The scattered flakes quickly turned into light storm of soft flakes that glittered under the streetlights. The first snow of the year.

He turned his face skyward, for the moment forgetting the chill. The snowflakes landed lightly on his cheekbones, and he opened his mouth to catch them. It had been a family tradition to race outside the moment the first flake fell to celebrate the beginning of winter. For many years, he'd had to carry on the custom by himself, though he'd looked a little bit like a fool, because he hadn't had anyone else.

Now, well…. It looked like he was still going to celebrate alone. Lost in the disheartening thoughts, he had to bite back a yelp of surprise when he was pulled into an embrace from behind.

"First snow, hmm?" The culprit rested his chin on Iruka's shoulder and held him close.

"Kakashi!" Iruka half-turned. "But, I thought, the mission…?"

"Finished early. And now, I'm home."

Joyous warmth that had little to do with the figure at his back rushed through him. "Welcome home."

Kakashi pulled his chin around and kissed him soundly. When he pulled back, he studied Iruka's face pensively.

"What?"

"Kissing under the first snow?" Kakashi tucked him under his arm, and they strolled towards home. "New tradition. Definitely."

The snow started to fall thicker and faster, and Iruka grinned up at him. "I can live with that."

OOOOOOO

Five golden rings!

Woohoo, I'm caught up. Hope you guys like it! ^^


	6. 6th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Eggnog**

"Whoa, go easy there, Iruka." Anko leaned over his shoulder as he refilled his cup.

"Do you have something against eggnog?" The words didn't quite come out the way he'd intended. He wondered why.

Anko studied him closely. "How many glasses have you had?"

"Four. Or five?" His voice rose in confusion on the last syllable. He counted on his finger, twisting to look over the room and map out where'd he been in the last couple of hours of the party. "Maybe six…. What's so funny?" He demanded.

"You do realize there's alcohol in this, right?"

"There is?" He peered into the cup, as if he could actually see the alcohol if he looked closely enough. "That would explain why I feel so…strange." He didn't drink often and knew from experience that he didn't hold his liquor well. The table edge seemed to be in two places at once, and the glass was extraordinarily hard to put down.

Anko continued to chuckle. "You're going to be exceptionally entertaining for the rest of the evening."

He wasn't listening. "Kakashi!" He'd spotted the spray of silver hair in the far doorway.

"Oh, no." Anko set her own glass down. She'd known about Iruka's crush for a while now. She'd even encouraged him to make a move on several occasions. On none of them, had he been drunk. "No, no, no. Iruka!"

He made surprisingly good time across the room considering how unsteady he was on his feet. Anko, however, got boxed in.

"Kakashi, hey!" Iruka stumbled to a stop, shoved his hands in his back pockets and grinned up at him.

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Yup! I…." His wandering eyes landed on something above their heads. "Oh." He stepped forward, caught the front of Kakashi's shirt in his hands and used it as leverage to pull himself into a kiss. When he stepped back, the look of stunned disbelief on Kakashi's face begged for an explanation. He gestured up and said brightly, "Mistletoe. It's the rule."

"So if we weren't under it, you wouldn't kiss me?" Kakashi queried.

"No." It was hard to tell if he was agreeing or contradicting.

Kakashi planted a hand in the center of his chest and backed him up a few steps. He followed a couple of paces behind and spread his hand when he stopped.

He gave a brief shrug. Iruka had been disagreeing – at this point, he would have kissed Kakashi anywhere without a second thought. And he did just that.

"Oh, hell." Anko could only watch from the other side of the room. At least the first kiss had an excuse.

But then Kakashi's arms snaked around Iruka's waist and tugged him close, deepening the kiss.

When they broke, Iruka staggered slightly. "You…. There's no mistletoe."

"That didn't stop you." Kakashi pointed out.

"But I like…." Iruka trailed off as the message sank past the alcohol haze. "Oh. Really?"

In response, Kakashi's eye just crinkled. "Maaa, I have to say, though, I didn't expect you to be trashed when we had our first kiss."

"We? Like, a couple?"

A soft chuckle. "Come on, let's get some food into you."

OOOOOOOO

This turned out a lot longer than I expected. Drunk!Iruka was hugely fun to write. I mean, really, does he strike you as the kind of person who wouldn't hold his alcohol all that well? 


	7. 7th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Carols**

_I'll be home for Christmas_

_You can count on me_

_Please have snow and mistletoe_

_And presents under the tree_

_Christmas Eve will find me_

_Where the love light beams_

_I'll be home for Christmas_

_If only in my dreams_

With a snarl, Kakashi wrenched the radio from the wall. What a horrible song. It only served to remind those alone that they were, in fact, alone. And it certainly didn't help to put him in the Christmas spirit.

He'd meant to get a tree, hang up the lights, deck the halls and all that nonsense, but he just hadn't felt like it.

"And what did my radio ever do to you?"

"Iruka." Kakashi dropped the radio on the couch next to him and sprang to his feet. "You're back. Are you injured? The mission…?"

Iruka held up a hand to stem the flow of questions. "I'm fine. It was a success, and…" He stepped into Kakashi's welcoming arms. "I'm glad to be home."

They stood in silence, enjoying the comfort of the embrace. Kakashi finally broke it. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Wait."

A sad smile crossed Iruka's lips. "Not easily and certainly not well." He turned his head to rest his cheek on Kakashi's shoulder and look at the smashed radio. "I've broken my share of appliances."

Kakashi eyed the radio sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm not really used to… I didn't realize…."

Iruka planted a sound kiss on his lips. "Come on, we've still got a few hours until Christmas. Let's get this place into the holiday spirit!"

One sad-looking fake tree quite possibly left over from when Iruka's grandparents were still quite young and several strands of impossibly tangled lights later, and the living room was bathed in a soft multi-colored glow. Kakashi sat down on the couch and opened his arms in invitation to Iruka, who curled up tight against his side, tucking his feet under the blanket piled at the end.

"Have I mentioned that I love you?"

"Not in the last five minutes. I love you too." Iruka checked his watch. "And Merry Christmas."

Kakashi kissed the top of his head, "Merry Christmas."

OOOOOOO

That particular song makes me cry every time. T_T This one was sort of thrown together, and I'm really not all that happy with it, but eh...


	8. 8th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Decorations**

He stretched languidly, arching over the arm of the couch and pressing his hands away from his body. He'd needed that nap. There were only a few days left, and he had so much to do, but he just couldn't keep his eyes open. Hopefully, Kakashi had taken care of….

"What the hell!" The band of red fabric tied expertly around his torso into a fluffy crimson bow had not been present when he'd fallen asleep. His uniform pants were still in place, thankfully, but a quick pass over his head revealed that a santa hat was pinned on top of his hair. Was that a collar around his neck? A band of red velvet with white trimmed edges hugged his throat and clasped in the back with a shiny black ribbon. "Kakashi!"

A shock of silver hair appeared around the doorframe. "Mmm?"

"This is _not_ what I meant by decorating!"

"But you look so Christmas-y!"

It was hard to muster up a sufficiently irritated expression when wearing a giant bow around one's torso, and judging from the way that Kakashi's eyes raked up and down his form, he wasn't even the slightest bit successful.

OOOOOOOO

Heehee


	9. 9th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Gift Exchange**

Iruka gnawed on the side of his thumb. Out of all the people who'd been dragged into the secret Santa nonsense, why did he have to draw Kakashi? He had no idea what to get a jounin, much less a former ANBU.

He bypassed the rack of weapons - he couldn't judge whether something was good enough for a level above what he was at - and the books as well. He knew full well what Kakashi read, but just couldn't bring himself to purchase something like that.

And maybe Kakashi was a porn connoisseur. It would be sort of like giving a cheap bottle of wine to a wine snob. He'd look like a fool.

That was really the rub. Had it been anyone else, he would have happily gotten a stupid gag gift from the corner store and been done with it, but it was Kakashi and a rare opportunity to make another impression on him that hopefully wouldn't involve Iruka yelling in his face.

But, in order to do that he had to find a good gift. Iruka groaned and started another circuit around the store.

OOOOOO

Part 1...


	10. 10th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Gift Exchange (Part 2)**

_This is impossible._ Kakashi ruffled the back of his hair and glared at the wall of knick-knacks before him. If he concentrated hard enough, perhaps he could convince the offending objects to spontaneously combust. Then at least he'd have an excuse for not finding anything.

When he'd first drawn Iruka for the secret santa, he'd been elated. What a perfect excuse! But as time went on, he realized that he didn't have the foggiest notion of what to buy him. He rounded the corner and ran head on into the object of his frustration.

Iruka grabbed hold of the nearby rack of magazines to keep from falling over, but only succeeded in knocking the entire stand askew. "Oh, I am so sorry. I should have…" He gathered up the scattered items, looked up and froze. "Kakashi-sensei."

"Here." Kakashi bent down to help. "Doing some last minute shopping?"

"Actually, I..." He rose a tucked a loose lock of hair behind his ear. "I know we're not supposed to reveal it before the party, but I drew you, and I don't have the faintest clue what to get you, so... Can I buy you lunch?"

Kakashi held up a rumpled slip of paper. "Only if you let me return the favor."

Two figures leaned out from behind a magazine rack. Gemma switched the senbon to the other side of his mouth. "You arranged it so they'd pick each other?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kurenai insisted.

OOOOOOO

Hope you don't mind that I reused themes ^^


	11. 11th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Christmas Eve**

"Mmmm…" Iruka buried his head deeper into the pillows to escape the prodding fingers ticking the sides of his neck and scratching at the very end of his nose. "G'way…."

Christmas was one of the few days during the year when he actually got to sleep in. He opened his eyes a tiny crack, but could see nothing but darkness. No power in this world was going to move him from the warm embrace of the bed. The bothersome hands sank lower, shoving his shirt up and running up and down over his ribs. When the trajectory reversed and dropped lower, he shoved a hand in the general direction of the annoyance. "What?"

"It's Christmas."

Iruka peeled his eyes open a little farther and focused on the clock. "It's Christmas Eve."

"It's Christmas!" Kakashi insisted, but then conceded. "By one minute."

"Kakashi, I love you and I am very excited about celebrating our first Christmas together, but it is midnight, and I am going back to sleep." He was impressed that he managed some semblance of patience.

"Just be glad I'm the one waking you up." Kakashi settled on the bed next to him, but seemed disinclined to let him go back to sleep. "The dogs found out about the holiday several years ago, and they take it very seriously."

"They're _dogs_, Kakashi. It's the middle of the night. They're not likely to be up and about." The frantic scrabbling in the hallway outside his bedroom interrupted his next thought.

Kakashi's entire pack of ninken tumbled into the bedroom. Bull landed across his legs, Uhei in the small of his back, and the rest found any other available spaces. A rousing chorus of 'Merry Christmas' accompanied with several barks and a couple of howls brought him completely awake.

"Alright, alright, it's Christmas. I'm up."

Kakashi leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Sorry we're such pains."

Iruka kissed him full on the lips with a sleepy smile. "I wouldn't have you any other way."

OOOOOOOOO

Seemed an appropriate theme for tonight ^^


	12. 12th Day of Christmas

**Theme: Working Over the Holiday**

Far up in the mountains in the country of flame

Nestles a small, shinobi village on a tree-covered plain

Between the bright colored houses all covered with snow

On a narrow drifted sidewalk 'neath streetlights aglow

A pony-tailed man hefted his bag full books

As his face set in a deeply resigned look

Others gather with friends around a brightly lit tree

And sing carols in drunk voices brimming with glee

Drink eggnog, trade presents, and offer well wishes

And sometimes, if lucky, give mistletoe kisses

And curl before the fire in their lover's embrace

But not the pony-tailed man with the scar on his face

For too many years, he spent Christmas alone

A fact that unfortunately was all too well known

His boss always took advantage of the whole situation

And suggested that he choose to postpone his vacation

To spend Christmas Eve at the desk in the Hokage tower

For any shinobi who returned home at the eleventh hour

"Bah humbug," He muttered as he collapsed in the chair

And tried to ignore how much he just didn't care

For hours, he watched the second hand tick by

Wondering how the holiday had gone so awry

With seconds to spare, an ANBU arrived

And reported in, though he looked sleep deprived

He took his own sweet time as he wrote on the page

Seemingly unconcerned they might die of old age

"Look, it's late in the evening on Christmas eve

And I'd like to get home, though that's difficult to conceive

The forms aren't that complicated, so let's pick up the pace!"

Snapped the pony-tailed man with the scar on his face

His voice was laced with the utmost frustration

And did very little to improve the situation

Thirty minutes later he emerged onto the street

And stepped out into a chill downpour of sleet

Very depressed, he trudged back home through the snow

Beneath the streetlights that had long ago ceased to glow

Under a moon hung high in the dark, frigid air

And he wished that someone waited for him there

The door to his apartment sat slightly ajar

The light spilling out like a bright blazing star

He pushed the door open and blinked in surprise

And felt the slightest of tears prick the corners of his eyes

Garlands of lights had been strung everywhere

And the smell of baking cookies still hung in the air

A wide-boughed tree stood just inside the door

Decorated in kunai, shuriken and lights by the score

Brightly wrapped presents were stacked underneath

And hung from the door was a snow-covered wreath

"You're home!" He exclaimed as he stepped in out of the snow.

"Is the mission over already? I expected you tomorrow."

The man didn't answer, but pointed upwards instead

At the mistletoe hanging just over their heads

The kiss was sweet, so gentle and kind

Erasing the worries that had preyed on his mind

Fingers tangled desperately into silver hair

Until they were driven apart by intense need for air

"Merry Christmas." The silver-haired man said with a smile.

"Work must have run late. I've waited a while.

But I kept myself busy." He indicated the tree

And the tinsel and stockings and even a hot pot of tea

"Merry Christmas." He returned and fell into the welcome embrace

Life truly was good for the pony-tailed man with the scar on his face.

OOOOOOOOOO

aaaand, this is why I don't write poetry...ever...

This seemed like such a good idea at the beginning, and once I got started, I was loathe to stop.

**Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone!**  
And thanks so much for all the comments and support during this challenge


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